'curing' all rock/yes/no?

[Sk8r]

I'm not too keen on the rock curing idea for all tanks. When I set up the first time, I just bought heavily corallined, inhabited rock off another tank and brought it straight over to cold raw January in the snow saltwater. 50+ species survived the cycle on it including mushrooms and a bit of bubble coral. Once it warmed up, the cycle took a week.

I had an accidental semi-rock-cooking when I moved. I just put the disgusting slime-dripping stinking mess straight over into my tank with new sand [I was so bummed: I had movers and boxes everywhere and no time to deal with it, while all my corals and fish were boarding and I had to get them in fast] with new water, decent heating, a good skimmer, and let 'er rip...figuring the cycle wanted ammonia: well, I could give it ammonia. It reeked of it. Cycle took one week and a half before fish and corals went back in. I lost some sps. The lps loved it. All fish thrived. But I don't have the diversity I so loved in the other setup.

I'm not anxious for newbie reefers to follow my lead here: but I wonder how much we generally lose off our rock by this general practice of stripping all the life off to gray rock. I'm still trying to get my invert fauna up to snuff.

What is the experience of others in this regard? Are we going through an unneeded process or did I just twice dodge a bullet? [I really thought I was in for it on the re-setup.] An inquiring mind wants to know.

 

[uglyamericanV1]

you did a seriously awesome dodge.....

i had 50 lbs of rock shipped to me (took three days though)
huge ammonia spike, i am cycling though so i wasnt that concerned....
i would not add more than 5 pounds uncured to a set up tank....and that might be pushing....

(i did add a couple of pounds to my 30 gallon, which has lots of corals and invert with some fish, and i had no problems at all)

 

[lancer99]

What 50 species survived?

-R

 

[Reefmore]

I had a spike on nice Coralined rock, wrapped in paper, drove 3 hours, put in tank (I thought it would be "ok") and had a nasty spike...The tank it came from had been checked for ammonia prior to me picking it up...

Fortunately I only lost some inverts

 

[Sk8r]

Re query: I can't find my inclusive file, but here is what survived in main:
Spionid worms
caulerpa, grape
Pileolaria featherdusters
Phoronid featherdusters
other featherdusters
peanut worm
bristleworms of 2 species
Dove snails
sponge pink,
sponge, ball yellow
isopods
copepods
mysis
aiptasia
discosoma neglecta
various other discosoma
coralline algae
valonia
green hair
red macro
pumping xenia
stomatella
bubble coral frag
a few asterinas
various bacteria


As opposed to: when I moved, my rock accidentally cooked: I lost all of it but: bacteria, grape caulerpa roots [it regrew]; and one aiptasia [it multiplied.]

I'd take the prior condition of the rock.

 

[Untamed12]

It's only my opinion....so don't attack me...

I think the entire concept of "cooking" or "curing" live rock is bizarre. I mean..why pay so much for rock covered with life and attempt to put the rock into conditions that will (intentionally or not) eliminate much or any of the life you paid for?

If all you want out of LR is to have a good platform for bacteria, and interesting shapes....then there are artificial mediums that will nicely do that.

For me....(again...my opinion only...) When I get rock I do my utmost to preserve the life that is on it. I cycle my tank using bioballs and dead seafood PRIOR to the arrival of rock into the system. Basically, I try to treat the LR like it was a fish.

LR is the single most expensive thing that I have ever purchased to put in the tank. Why would I use that to cycle my tank?

It always comes down to what an individual wants their aquarium to be. In my tanks, I like there to be as much life as possible...including a lot of critters that other people don't want. (you get the bad with the good)

If one is attempting to add LR to an existing system, I certainly agree that you have to be VERY careful to avoid a spike that could kill things that are already living in the tank. I'm primarily referring to setting up a new system.

 

[billsreef]

I don't like the curing in the dark routine. Kind of guarantees some things will die off. When doing a new tank set up with fresh uncured rock, I like to set it all up in the tank and get any filtration (skimmers, ozone, etc.) running along with running the lights for half a day till the tank is cycled. I've had good look with this keeping a lot of the life on the rocks viable. You will go through some algae blooms this way, but that happens any way you do it

 

[smspring]

Interesting posts here on cycling with LR. I am new to the hobby and am already addicted. I've had a hard time understanding why people would spend $$$ on LR to cycle and watch all the life die, so your comments make complete sense.

What I don't understand is why wouldn't I use cured LR from my LFS since it already has the beneficial bacteria on it? Wouldn't there be a quicker cycle with less die off by doing this? I keep reading that the recommendation is to use uncured or "fresh" rock to cycle the tank... doesn't make sense to me. Thoughts?

 

[ryan_paskadi]

I am with you. I like diversity bad and good. Well, maybe no aiptasia. I have a 55 and becuase of lack of money I could not go out and buy a ton of LR so I patiently bought 1 rock at a time until I liked the amount I had. I never cured becuas I just didnt see the need and I am impatient. I got a chance to get pieces from all over. I got some fiji branches that were literally covered with crap galore. They cycled and afterward very little was left. I got a couple rocks from a torn down system and they were awesome. In time I could see all manor of sponges, anemones, feather dusters, peanut worms, corraline, and button polyps.

I think that preserving the life is important, and if you get a piece of aquacultured rock from florida and it was shipped overnight go for it, but I believe that some rocks that are coming from indonesia and have been out of water for days are too far gone.

 

[Thales]

I think there is a difference between cooking and curing. Curing seems to refer to regular cycling while cooking is more involved.

My understanding of cooking LR is not to kill the life on it, but to allow expected die off and rock detritus shedding to occur somewhere where exporting the ickies is easer than in the show tank. I have cooked LR in an extra tank with lights on it under the house, and given the amount of die off and detritus shedding that occurred, I would always cook the rock before putting it in the show tank.

 

[ludiNano]

Buy LR is the last thing i need for my new tank. What about buying 75% base fiji/tonga rock online and then buying 25% LR from LFS? And leting it seed the base rock.

I was looking at www.marcorocks.com

 

[Sk8r]

In my previous tank, back in the 80's/90's, I went with all base rock except one little 3 lb and a dirty piece of filter material, in a 100g. Took 8 and slightly weeks to cycle, and then had to be treated very carefully at first [weak sandbed]---I had crushed coral, to boot; but it eventually turned into great rock. I still own that rock---moved it from OK to WA; never have re-seeded it, because it's been in the garden and I'm worried about contamination; but if I ran it with polypad, I could probably re-use it.
Just be careful that you don't get volcanic rock for your base: metal content. Things that are safe in fresh water are not safe in salt, because salt aggressively dissolves metals.
I've heard good things about marcorocks.

 

[Thales]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11794565#post11794565 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ludiNano
Buy LR is the last thing i need for my new tank. What about buying 75% base fiji/tonga rock online and then buying 25% LR from LFS? And leting it seed the base rock.

I was looking at www.marcorocks.com

The best place to get live rock is from reefers getting out of the hobby. Way better than getting any rock freshly ripped out of a wild reef.

 

[GreshamH]

I second Marco Rock and other dry rock sources Getting parastic algae, I mean, live rock from others tanks doesn't spark any interest or need by me :lol:

 

[Big E]

All I care about is the bacteria......some corraline is nice but that's it. After fighting pest macro algaes, hydroids, aiptasia, flatworms, ect., I could care less about the other life on the rock.

Thing is you won't kill everything on the rock in a dark tub. In over two years corrraline still exists as well as some hardy pests.
I've had button polyps come back after being in the dark over a year.

 

[smspring]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts... I am leaning towards getting dry rock then seeding it with a couple lbs of LR crumbles.

Does anyone have any pictures (or links to one) on how to aquascape by drilling holes and using dowels with dry rock? Or any example photos of someone who has done that?

Also, is there a comparable online store to www.marcorocks.com? He seems very backed up with orders right now... seems like demand > supply.

 

[carb850]

The pictures of the Marco I have seen recently don't look as nice as the stuff people were getting awhile back. However, that is based only upon a few examples of pictures which have been posted to this board. Those few examples may not be representative of everything he is shipping out.

An alternative can be dry Eco Rox. I believe Eco Rox to be more like the normal Fiji rock we see being sold were as the Marco is more similiar to Fiji Pukani. I haven't see any pictures of Eco Rox orders so I have no idea how hey look.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/Eco-R...ry-Fiji-Live-Rock-(ECO-ROX)/product_info.html

 

[Thales]

Thats why you cook it Gresh! If you are going to go dry anyway, stick 'used' rock in big trash can full of saltwater and wait a couple months.

 

[linyreefer]

If it still smells it most likely is not cured.